Paint brush pocket

ABSTRACT

A paint brush pocket of one piece construction defined by a sleeve having a first closed end and a second open end, the cross section of the sleeve dimensioned to the cross section of that portion of a paint brush to which the bristles are attached, the depth of the sleeve dimensioned to the length of the paint brush from that portion to which the bristles are attached to the end of the bristles, it being understood that different size sleeves will be used for different sized paint brushes, the second open end of the sleeve having a generally U-shaped tongue to engage the rim of an open paint can, the U-shaped tongue extending over the rim and depending downwardly within the paint can and thus positioning the sleeve in juxtaposition to the circular outer surface of the paint can.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/387,951, filed Jun. 12, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to painting and in particular to a paint brush holder or pocket cooperative with the paint bucket for securing the paint brush when not being used.

2. Description of the Prior Art

People familiar with painting are familiar with the awkwardness of securing a wet paint brush during the course of painting. Often times the painter is interrupted in the painting process in order to perform certain tasks in order to continue the painting process. He must lay the paint brush down in order to perform these tasks before resuming painting. The painter normally has one of two choices in securing the paint brush. If paper is spread out or a drop cloth is being used, the paint brush can be laid on the paper or drop cloth, but this option transfers wet paint to the paper or drop cloth, which could later be stepped in and tracked on non-protected surfaces.

The other option is for the painter to rest the paint brush across the circumference of the paint can with the bristles and the handle extending over the rim of the paint can. This has no detrimental effect to the bristles of the brush, but it does possibly transfer paint from the rim of the paint can to the handle of the brush used by the painter.

Applicant has developed a novel contribution to the painting arts which allows the paint brush to be stored outside and adjacent to the paint can in a holster or pocket when not being actively used for painting.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel paint brush pocket which is cooperative with the open paint can and allows the web paint brush to be stored temporarily during the painting process.

A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel paint brush pocket which does not permit the brush to dry out when the brush is temporarily out of service during the painting process.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel paint brush pocket cooperative with an open paint can which is easily manufactured and inexpensive such that it may be discarded when the painting process in one particular color is completed.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel paint brush pocket which aids in the removal of excess paint from the brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A paint brush pocket of one piece construction defined by a sleeve having a first closed end and a second open end, the cross section of the sleeve dimensioned to the cross section of that portion of a paint brush to which the bristles are attached, the depth of the sleeve dimensioned to the length of the paint brush from that portion to which the bristles are attached to the end of the bristles, it being understood that different size sleeves will be used for different sized paint brushes, the second open end of the sleeve having a generally U-shaped tongue to engage the rim of an open paint can, the U-shaped tongue extending over the rim and depending downwardly within the paint can and thus positioning the sleeve in juxtaposition to the circular outer surface of the paint can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the paint brush pocket;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the paint brush pocket;

FIG. 3 is a view of the paint brush pocket along plane 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of the paint brush pocket along plane 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the paint brush pocket and paint brush secured to the side of a paint can.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the paint brush pocket 10 of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a side view. In the preferred embodiment, paint brush pocket 10 would be fabricated of one piece molded plastic. Paint brush pocket 10 comprises a sleeve member 12 defined by a peripheral wall 14 having a rear side 16 which would be juxtaposed against a paint can and a front side 18 and side walls 17 and 19. Sleeve 12 would have a closed lower end 20 and an open upper end 22. The bore 24 defined by the peripheral wall 14 would taper from the open upper end 22 and the open upper end 22 would be dimensioned to accommodate the bristle end of a paint brush as described hereafter. Rear side 16 of peripheral wall 14 is juxtaposed against a paint can and extends upwardly, higher than front side 18 and terminates with a paint can rim engaging surface 26 for engagement with the rim of a paint can. Rim engaging surface 26 has a depending leg surface 27 which depends inside the paint can. Depending leg surface 27 is offset from the edge 29 of rim engaging surface 26 to form a lip 31 for use in removing excess paint from the brush after it has been dipped in the paint.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross sectional views of paint brush pocket 10 on the planes indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a paint can 30, the paint brush holder 10 of the present invention, and a paint brush 32. The paint can 30, when ready for use, would have its lid 34 removed to allow access to the paint. The rim engaging surface 26 of paint-brush holder 10 would be positioned over paint can rim 36 such that the sleeve member 12 would hang outside of the paint can 30 with its rear side 16 juxtaposed against the paint can 30. The paint brush 32 would then be utilized in the normal course of painting, but when the painting process incurs a temporary interruption, the paint brush 32 would be inserted within the sleeve member 12. This would prevent excess dripping of paint on drop clothes or newspaper and simultaneously keeps the bristles or the paint brush moist and prevents them from becoming dry or brittle because sleeve member 12 is enclosed and the paint cannot drip from the brush.

It is well known that paint brushes come in many different sizes to accommodate different types of painting surfaces and painting obstacles, such as window frames, door frames and molding. Therefore it is intended in one embodiment that the paint brush pocket 10 of the present invention would be constructed preferably of one piece molded plastic and could be constructed in various sizes of sleeve member 12 to accommodate brushes of varying bristle widths.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views of the paint brush pocket along planes 3-3 of FIGS. 2 and 4-4 of FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment it is desirous to fabricate a paint brush pocket of sufficient width and depth that it could accommodate brushes of varying width and depth. In the preferred embodiment in FIG. 3, open upper end 22 would be approximately 4 inches in width and 2{fraction (1/16)} inches in depth. The side walls would taper inwardly and the back wall and front wall would taper towards each other such that the width in that area labeled A would be 3½ inches and the depth 1½ inches. Further tapering to the area marked B, would lead to a width of 3⅛ inches and a depth of 1{fraction (1/18)} inches. Preferably, the closed lower end 20 would be of a width of 1¼ inches and a depth of ⅜ of an inch. This configuration will allow a single paint brush pocket 10 to accommodate brushes of varying dimensions.

It is further intended that the paint brush pocket 10 of the present invention could be manufactured and produced at very lost cost such that the user would have the option at the conclusion of the painting process to either clean the paint brush pocket 10 for future use, or discard it without any costly loss.

While the present invention has been described with respect to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof. 

1. A paint brush pocket of one piece molded polymer construction cooperative with an open paint can for temporary storage of a paint brush during a painting process, said paint brush pocket comprising: a sleeve member of one piece molded polymer construction having a fear face and a front face in tapered relationship thereto and opposing side walls in tapered relationship thereto, said front face, rear face, and opposing side walls transitioning to form a closed lower end and defining an open upper paint brush receiving end, said rear face extending above said front face and terminating with a paint can rim engaging surface dimensioned to span an open paint can rim, said paint can rim engaging surface having a leg member depending therefrom within said open paint can in spaced apart relationship to said paint can inner circumference, so as to suspend said sleeve member in hanging relationship by means of said rim engaging surface with respect to said paint can outer circumference, said paint can rim engaging surface of said paint brush pocket extends beyond said leg member depending therefrom to form a lip for selected contact with said paint brush for removal of excess paint when withdrawn from said paint can.
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